Bodies at the time of post-human. Machine education the new frontier of pedagogy?

Abstract

Body, in its incessant process of mutation, reflects the complexity of the dynamics that today contribute to defining the concept of identity, which can no longer be circumscribed within the binary logic based on sex and gender variants, but is destined to assume a fluid and multiform dimension. Although with difficulty, western culture is beginning to acknowledge this change in horizon, which has obvious repercussions on the level of social behaviour and human relations, while it dedicates very little attention to the technological transformations of the body, which is set to emancipate itself from the chains of the flesh and to hybridise itself ever more profoundly with machines. Yet cyborgs, through an intricate network of grafts, mechanical and electronic prostheses, have long been among us, while, thanks to the continuous progress made in the field of artificial intelligence and new materials, androids now represent the near future of the post-human condition. The essay sets out to analyse developments in human/machine interaction, reflecting in particular on its repercussions in the field of identity and the ethical and philosophical questions it introduces. Therefore, is machine education new frontier of pedagogy?